Chapter 693: Until Next Time.

Thoren ran for the corner of the lakebed without a second thought.

The ground tilted under his boots, and every step threatened to throw him off balance.

Mud sucked at his heels, bones snapped beneath him, and fissures opened and closed across his path like hungry mouths.

He leaped over one, skidded across another and kept moving; the Soul Lantern over his head, casting its pale light across the collapsing chamber.

Boom!

A slab of the ceiling crashed down behind him and shattered into pieces. Dust and stone fragments slapped against his back, but he did not look around.

He reached the corner and stopped short.

His eyes widened.

What had looked like part of the wall was not a wall.

It was an ancient stone entrance, half buried in the lakebed and hidden for years beneath the black water.

Weathered carvings covered its surface, worn almost smooth, and a faint arch curved over the top.

The tremor had split it open.

A long, jagged crack ran down the center, and one side of the stone had slid away, leaving a dark gap behind it.

A hidden passage.

Thoren stared at the opening for a moment.

It was narrow, barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through, and the darkness inside gave no hint of where it led.

And right now, it was the only thing in the cavern that looked like a way out.

Behind him, the cavern screamed.

Stones fell like rain.

The whole ceiling sagged, groaning under its own weight, and giant cracks spread across it from one end to the other.

A thick pillar toppled and broke across the lakebed, throwing up a wave of mud and rubble. The ground heaved again, and a fissure ripped open where he had stood a moment before.

’No time.’

He turned sideways and pushed into the gap.

The stone pressed against his chest and back.

He exhaled and forced his shoulders through, the rough edges scraping his arms and tearing at his clothes.

His boot slipped on the wet ground, and he caught himself with his palm against the rock.

Crack!

The crack in the entrance widened, and a heavy piece of stone broke loose and struck the ground beside his foot.

Thoren gritted his teeth and drove forward, grunting as the narrow passage squeezed the breath out of him.

Dust poured over his head, stinging his eyes and coating his throat.

Behind him, the tremors roared louder and louder, until it felt as though the whole world were coming to an end.

The ceiling thundered down in huge chunks, and the entire cavern seemed to fold in on itself.

He pushed one last time, and his body slid free of the gap.

Thoren stumbled forward onto soft, wet ground and caught himself on his hands and knees. His chest heaved.

Behind him, the entrance trembled, and the noise of the collapse dulled to a distant, muffled rumble.

The illusory Soul Lantern floated above his head like a guardian.

The passage stretched ahead of him in a narrow, winding line.

The air was damp and heavy, thick with the smell of wet stone and old earth, and the floor was a layer of cold mud that clung to his boots.

Water dripped steadily from the ceiling and ran down the walls in thin, glistening streaks.

The pale light of the lantern pushed back the darkness just enough to reveal the rough rock and the bends ahead.

He stood and brushed the dust from his clothes. His arms were scratched, and his breath still came in rough gasps.

The passage did not stay quiet for long.

Behind Thoren, a deep rumble rolled through the rock, growing louder with every breath. Dust shook loose from the ceiling and drifted through the soul lantern light.

The ground trembled under his boots, and a sharp crack echoed from somewhere far back, the sound of the ruin still tearing itself apart.

It was following him.

Thoren broke into a run.

The narrow passage twisted ahead in a long, winding line, and he took each bend at full speed, one hand on the wall to keep his balance.

Mud splashed up his legs.

Water dripped from the ceiling onto his shoulders and neck, cold and sudden.

Boom!

Something heavy collapsed behind him, and a gust of dusty air slammed into his back.

He did not turn around.

He pushed harder, his lungs burning and his legs aching, and the sound of falling stone chased him down the tunnel.

After a few more turns, the narrow passage opened into a wider tunnel.

The walls pulled back, and the ceiling rose higher, and for the first time he could run without scraping his arms.

But the relief lasted only a few steps.

Ahead, the tunnel split apart.

Two paths opened to the left, one to the right, and another ran straight ahead, each swallowed by the same dark.

Thoren’s eyes flicked over them.

There was no sign, no marking, and no time to examine the walls for clues. He could not tell which path led to safety and which led to a dead end.

Any one of them could be his grave.

A crack split the ceiling above him, and dust poured down.

’No time to think.’

He did not slow down.

The path he had been following ran straight ahead, and he had to trust that it would lead somewhere.

Choosing another now would only waste precious seconds. He gritted his teeth and kept running, past the openings and into the tunnel in front of him.

Behind him, the destruction roared closer.

The floor shook beneath his feet, and the ground behind him began to sink. Boulders crashed down, one after another, sealing the side passages as they passed.

The noise filled the tunnel, a deep, endless thunder that pressed against his ears and shook his bones.

The air thickened with dust until every breath tasted of stone.

’Faster.’

Thoren ran with everything he had left.

His boots slid across the mud, and he nearly fell, but he caught himself on his hand and pushed off again.

His breath came in ragged bursts.

A chunk of rock struck the wall beside his head and shattered into pieces, stinging his cheek with splinters.

He barely noticed.

Ahead, far down the tunnel, a faint gray light appeared.

It was weak and distant, but it was not the glow of the Soul Lantern.

Thoren’s eyes fixed on it, and he forced his legs to move faster, the light growing wider and brighter with every step.

While also, the roar of the collapse swelled behind him until it felt like it was pressing against his back.

The ceiling broke apart just behind his heels, and the tunnel filled with falling stone.

He threw himself forward.

Thoren burst out of the cave entrance in a cloud of dust.

His legs gave out the moment he cleared the opening, and he stumbled forward, catching himself on one knee.

Behind him, the tunnel mouth shuddered and spat out a final wave of rubble before the entrance caved in and went still.

For a moment, Thoren did not react. His chest rose and fell but then, a slow grin crept up his face.

Hahahaha.

"I’m out!"

Just then, a word appeared in his mind.

’Until next time...’